tu familia
/tu familja/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "your family" is translated as tu familia.
This phrase refers to the group of people who are related to the person being spoken to. When discussing specific members, you might use terms such as sobrino (nephew), sobrina (niece), cuñado (brother-in-law), cuñada (sister-in-law), padrino (godfather), madrina (godmother), nieto (grandson), nieta (granddaughter), bisabuelo (great-grandfather) or bisabuela (great-grandmother).
Which one should you use?
If you are speaking to someone in a formal or respectful manner, use su familia instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the plural "your families", you must change both the possessive adjective and the noun to their plural forms: tus familias. Note that even though a family consists of multiple people, the word familia is a singular noun and therefore takes a singular verb, such as in the phrase tu familia es (your family is).
Did you know?
- The word familia originates from a Latin term referring to the 'slave staff' or household servants of a home.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, the concept of familia extends far beyond blood relatives to include 'compadres' or godparents.
- When using the formal su familia, the word su can also mean 'his', 'her', or 'their' family, potentially causing confusion in conversation.
Examples in context
- Me gusta tu familia.I like your family.This sentence is useful for expressing your liking for someone's family using tu familia.Tatoeba #1863947 by Shishir, translation #1867469 by CM
- ¿Esta es tu familia?Is this your family?This sentence is useful for asking a question to identify someone's family using tu familia.Tatoeba #2059646 by Shishir, translation #2661923 by WestofEden
- ¿Qué tal tu familia?How's your family?This sentence is useful for asking how someone's family is doing using tu familia.Tatoeba #6600597 by arh, translation #54503 by CK
- 45 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking at a cafe.
- Alejandro¿Cómo está tu familia, Lucía?How is your family, Lucía?
- LucíaTodos están muy bien, gracias.Everyone is very well, thank you.
- AlejandroMe alegra mucho saberlo.I am very happy to hear that.
- LucíaGracias, Alejandro, eres muy amable.Thank you, Alejandro, you are very kind.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries familia, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
